~CHARLOTTE~

How could I be this cruel to the man I love? Just when...

Charlotte hadn't even noticed that he had just called her by the intimate nickname she usually hated. She felt like she was going to black out. Her body suddenly forced her to inhale, and she realized she had been holding her breath. Well, if Yami is putting everything out on the table, I might as well try to fill in the blanks.

"It's because I love you." She wasn't sure if she had whispered or shouted the words, all she knew was that she had finally said it. The truth.

Upon seeing his blade slice through her cursed briars on that fateful day, her eyes were opened to the existence of a strong, yet humble man. Ever since he had rescued her and her family, her heart had been irreversibly drawn to his. Serving with him in the Magic Knights only strengthened her ties to him. In fact, every time they were in the same vicinity, she admired him from a distance.

Even though her feelings could be explained as "love-at-first-sight", they had tumbled over and over within her for years, growing like a snowball rolled down a hill. Her intrigue grew into admiration, and that grew into longing and finally evolved into dedication. If the curse had chosen to haunt him as well, it was because she loved him so deeply that he might as well have been an extension of her being.

"You... you love me?" Yami's voice was raspy and uneven, like he had forgotten how to speak. He turned his body to face her directly, which only added to her embarrassment.

"Yes," she squeaked out, squeezing her eyes shut. She didn't want to see his reaction to her revelation. He's definitely gonna flip out. This is only our second date, and here I am saying I love him already. Heck, I can hear wedding bells, but I'm sure that's his worst nightmare.

She continued, "You deserve to know, to know why the curse is targeting you. I don't go around telling people this because of the implications, but the exact nature of my curse was 'that on my eighteenth birthday, my family and I would be trapped in a cage of time, unless my heart was stolen by a man', and the day you cut me loose from my magic, it didn't just stop because you cut the briars. It stopped because you broke the curse, meaning you stole my heart."

"My briars remained blue and naturally weaker than their true form, but at least my family and I are safe now. I honestly thought it was over, the lasting effects like a scar from bearing the curse all those years. I guess I was wrong. It wasn't enough for me to be damaged, you had to be dragged into it as well. Now, it seems I wasn't cursed with finding love, but rather into never being allowed to truly love the person who stole my heart. I can only love you from a distance."

She was frustrated and despairingly lonely. She should have known this whole thing was too good to be true, Yami and her dating. It would have been better if things stayed as they were. No kissing, no fulfilled desires, no words like "love".

"Charlotte, kiss me," Yami's voice broke through the web of darkness that entangled her thoughts. It was strong and powerful, bringing with it a blinding ray of light. Her eyes shot open, and discovered he hadn't run away, not even a single step.

"What? Didn't I just...? Don't you understand?!" Her gaze hardened as anger boiled over her pessimism. Yami continued to address her, his voice commanding and calm.

"I know I forced myself on you earlier, and I apologize... even though you don't seem to be complaining... but from now on I'll just tell you what I want so there's no room for misunderstanding. I want you to kiss me. I want you to love me. I want it. I want you." After he spoke, he stood opposite her, waiting for her to come to him.

She felt like she had walked right into a glass door, or taken a drink from a cup expecting it to be soda and discovered it was milk instead. Yami was planted firmly at her side, and one glance at him told her all she needed to know. He wasn't going to leave her.

Haltingly, she took a step towards him  and brought her hands up to his chest. Her eyes held his gaze as firmly as he held her in return.

"Even if I hurt you?" She asked.

"Yes, even if you hurt me," he responded.

A small laugh rang out from her lips, "You really are different, aren't you Yami?" Once again, she brought her lips up to meet his. This kiss wasn't rushed. It was light, but saturated with the kind of love you feel only after there's nothing left to hide. After all the emotions that had coursed through her body in the past few minutes, she finally ended on happiness.

A/N: When you enter a relationship, how do you handle the risk of getting hurt?